CBSE Schools Get New Format for Assessment, Old System Scrapped

Now the system of assessment in CBSE schools will be a whole new method. The Central Board of Secondary Education has scrapped out the continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) scheme for classes VI to IX that has been in practice since 2009. This academic year (2017-18) a new format called 'uniform system of assessment, examination and report card' will be introduced. This aims at standardizing teaching and evaluation across schools.

Uniform Assessment in CBSE

Students will be scanned under "uniform assessment" process from Class VI onwards and schools will have to adhere to CBSE's template, from examinations to report cards, which will now bear the logo of the board.

Non-uniformity

According to the CBSE, schools under its aegis did not have a single assessment and examination in classes VI to IX. "The change is a step linked to the restoration of the Class X board examinations from 2018," said board chairperson R K Chaturvedi.

The new format is a "gradual movement towards quality education through standardisation of teaching, assessment, examination and report card," he said.

As per Chaturvedi, the uniform standards had become imperative because differences in the system were creating problems for students whenever they migrated to another school. "With the increase in CBSE affiliated schools from 309 in 1962 to 18,688 at present, a uniform system will ensure easy migration of students within the CBSE schools and also ease their difficulties while seeking admissions in new schools."

New Report Cards

The new report cards for classes VI to VIII will be designed alike with rows specifying the terms, periodic, notebook, subject enrichment and half yearly/ yearly marks scored in each subject and the corresponding grades.
It will also have co-scholastic assessment where students will be graded on a 3-point scale.

For Class IX, it is another format where the report card will have scores of a single yearly term comprising a periodic test, notebook, subject enrichment and annual examination.
The co-scholastic grading will be on a five-point grading scale.

CCE Assessment Format

• In the CCE scheme, students were assessed based on
• two term-end 'summative assessments' and
• four 'formative assessments' (two each in each term)

Pen-paper tests comprised 60% marks while 40% was formative assessment during the year was continuous evaluation by teachers based on various activities.

New Assessment Format

The new format too has two terms, but the pen-paper test weightage will be now 90%, which consists of
the 80 marks of the half yearly or yearly exam and
10 marks of the 20 marks set aside for periodic assessment in each term.

For each term there will be 100 marks of which 10 marks will be for note book submission and subject enrichment (five marks each) under periodic assessment.

While the half-yearly (term 1) exams for all the classes from VI onwards will be based on syllabus covered till the exam time, the syllabus for yearly exams will have a slightly different format. These exams will increasing cover more of term 1 syllabus, starting with 10% for Class VI, 20% for Class VII and 30% for Class VIII.

"This is to gradually prepare the students for Class IX and higher classes where they will have to appear for exams for the entire syllabus. But it will happen gradually," said Chaturvedi.

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